E-mobility is one of tomorrow´s major business opportunities. By the year 2025, electric or partially electric vehicles will account for up to 50% of new vehicle registrations in Europe. Although e-mobility is certainly not part of our everyday lives yet, it is definitely picking up speed. The European Union is setting the pace of change: it has decreed that CO2 emissions must be reduced by 20% between now and 2020.
But who are the major players, and what are the most important drivers? Utility companies, for instance, want to become greener and boost sales in the process. At the same time, they hope that electricity storage and grid balancing become easier. Automakers, on the other hand, must develop new technological knowhow to gain the edge over their competitors and fulfill EU emissions targets. Governments hope to use e-mobility to reduce dependence on oil, improve the quality of life and promote their local economies.
E-mobility is here to stay. This is clearly illustrated by the fact that Mr. Obama´s stated goal is to have one million electric vehicles on the road in four years´ time, while China is running 25 pilot projects and has pledged to invest more than EUR 10 billion in vehicle electrification.
While some Western European economies, especially France and Germany, are known as highly developed e-mobility countries, our study is the first to look into the situation in Central and Eastern Europe – we set out to take a closer look at eight countries in this region. Who is the regional leader? What can the followers learn from the leaders? What are the regional best practices? Why should one get involved already now? What challenges can be expected along the way?
To find out, Roland Berger scrutinized publicly available information and complemented it with e-mobility know-how and experience. The general structure of the analysis is based on the four key elements of the industry: market supply and demand, the regulatory environment and the general operating environment (such as the number of big cities, per capita GDP, number of cars, etc.). To clearly assess these elements using a comparable methodology the experts have created an e-mobility maturity index. The publications general goal is to show how mature the selected e-mobility markets are and make recommendations for the stakeholders involved.
Source: Roland Berger Strategy Consultants / publications 31.10.2011
Find the original text on the website of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants.
E-mobility in Central and Eastern Europe
02.11.11